Author David Kilcullen on Troop Withdrawal, the Influence of Wikileaks and Corruption in Afghanistan.
... in today's Conversation, David Kilcullen, a senior advisor to the U.S. military on counterinsurgency, war strategy and counterterrorism, tells ABC's Diane Sawyer that the president's goal might be too ambitous. According to Kilcullen, if the U.S. leaves before stabilizing the region, it will leave power in the hands of a corrupt and instable government. The Taliban was born in Afghanistan and has deep ties to the region -- Kilcullen argues that pulling the troops too soon would leave the government, and its people, once again vulnerable to the Taliban's control.
Kilcullen's latest book titled Counterinsurgency lays out his plan for a stable withdrawal from Afghanistan. A former lieutenant colonel in the Australian army, he has spent time in both Iraq and Afghanistan and advised General David Petraeus and the U.S. State Department on counterinsurgency strategy...
More at ABC News.
Comments
We should be leaving based on success and not some time line. If I were the enemy, I would just wait until July 2011 and pour on the juice. That would really paint the picture of defeat.
The Iraq method of withdrawal is much better. It should be phased and it should be based on meeting specific goals and what is actually going on at the ground level.
The politics of this is another factor. Obama has an election worry about and he has to show a victory or some kind of success in the 'just war'(he owned this thing at the Pulitzer Prize speech). If the Taliban can clearly show the signs of victory during this time period of planned withdrawal--which they will do, then Obama's just war will become his lost war.
Politically speaking, victory in Afghanistan is vital for this administration, and setting specific dates of withdrawal is a bad idea.